There is no doubting Cossacks II is a great RTS, however its overwhelming difficulty and, at times, overwhelming complexity, make it one for the "hardcore fans" only - whether that be the hardcore fans of this war era, or hardcore fans of RTS games who are looking for a serious challenge.

I would go so far as to say that this game has the best micromanagement system in any RTS. The options were sufficient to attract gamers from a fairly wide spectrum, and the graphics, considering the scale of the game, were incredible.

Fans of the Napoleonic period will get a rise out of Cossacks II, as will strategy buffs seeking out something a little different from the usual tank rush tactics. It's a terrific simulation of the age of "gentlemanly" combat, during which Napoleon almost took over the world.

Nevertheless, we can’t help but feel that it’s all a little on the dated side. An RTS that hasn’t been designed for the C&C crowd isn’t a bad thing, but Rome: Total War has already demonstrated that more tactical offerings are capable of crossing the boundaries and appealing to all sub-sets of RTS gamers.

Cossacks 2 is a bit better than the original Cossacks and a substantial improvement over "Alexander." At the very least, the time period is much more exciting and much easier for the general gaming general to relate to.

A pretty good game, but it certainly can’t stand up to other RTS games out there. Regardless of that, Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars is an excellent 19th century based strategy game, a time period that has been dry for a long time.

The reliance of slow, methodical tactical play rather than letting things become a case of who can click their mouse button the fastest is implemented at an incredibly solid level, with very little to complain about.

This is a nice game for fans of the genre; however, if you are looking for a game to jump in and out of quickly this may not be the one for you. The problem is that you must spend much of your time micro-managing your units, telling them when to fire, when to charge and where to move.

Certainly a playable game, and it has an obvious appeal to a certain variety of gamers. However, if you aren’t part of that group, odds are one or more of those flaws in the game’s design are going to make it just about impossible to really enjoy.

Twitch players in favour of the 'rush and crush' tactic will be deeply frustrated here, but those who like to take their time and mull over the tactical options available should find much to keep them occupied.

This Cossacks 2 has a good concept. Real-time strategy, unit based warfare like Empire Total War with real-time economic elements like AOE 3.This Cossacks 2 has a good concept. Real-time strategy, unit based warfare like Empire Total War with real-time economic elements like AOE 3. Two really good gameplay elements melded into one and it is really a shame that poor polish ultimately made this game unplayable. There is huge degree of micro-management, with workers, units, and buildings all needing a great deal of care and attention, and that attention soon gets spread very thinly. That said, I am not against micro-management, quite the opposite, but the way it is presented in this game make it feel like needless busy-work. The economic management is basically nil, so you can run out of a resource in the midst of a huge battle and have almost no way to make up the difference. The interface is very clunky, especially in the heat of battle when you simply don't have time to second glance your commands. Your unit AI is very simple and pathfinding and auto-targeting are broken. For instance you cannot set non-artillery units to auto-fire, which means you must constantly be clicking back and forth up and down your lines to make sure that your unit is not getting shot to pieces without so much as returning fire. And since reload times are based on individual units and not squads, it is difficult to judge when the squad will be ready to fire, since you cannot order individual units to fire independently. And the morale system is very wonky as well, with the designated morale meter not being a very good indicator of your unit's overall morale. Half of a unit could break and flee and the meter would still read 100% for the other half and at other times it is close to zero and your brave soldiers will still be fighting on. In all if you can keep your army small it would not be very difficult to manage everything but the AI has a habit of trying to wear your done with attrition, sending wave after wave of cannon fodder until you either run out of ammunition or are overwhelmed. That said the AI is not overly complex and while it will attempt maneuvers or capturing strategic positions this is just an afterthought for its main strategy. And since they AI receives resource cheats its impossible to beat them through claiming strategic locations. There is also a campaign, which is slightly better than the random maps via scripts, it is rather unimpressive and boring. One example is half the officers in the Royal Army have Californian accents. All that said, I did not give the game a terrible score and this is why: The concept is truly unique and there is a huge amount of potential. If GSC can iron out all the rough edges there is strategy game of the year in Cossacks 3. Improve the AI, improve the interface, and there is a really great game to be had. I really hope the developers stick with this concept.…Full Review »

Cossacks II "killed" the series and anything that had to do with it, after the fabulous start of Cossacks: European wars, it managed toCossacks II "killed" the series and anything that had to do with it, after the fabulous start of Cossacks: European wars, it managed to destroy what it's predecessor succeeded at: big maps, with thousands of troops, battle oriented but with an important role of developing the economy yourself, sea battles, technology playing a role in the game etc. Everything I just wrote was destroyed and thus it killed the Cossacks series, and for that it gets a deserving 0, not worth more than 2 euros/dollars and only for the nostalgic-sado-masochists that love Cossacks and want to try out Cossacks II.…Full Review »

One of the biggest disappointments of my gaming life. While not a terrible game in it self, after the relatively good cossacks 1, I wasOne of the biggest disappointments of my gaming life. While not a terrible game in it self, after the relatively good cossacks 1, I was expecting so much more, particularly in terms of LAN gaming and AI. The engine is dated, the maps small... I was converted over to the "Total War" series after this.…Full Review »